The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has issued a Notice Inviting Tender for 700 MW of inter-state transmission system (ISTS)-connected solar PV projects, with the output earmarked for commercial and industrial demand in Odisha. The NIT was issued on 8 July 2026.
The structure
Developers will build the projects on a build-own-operate (BOO) basis anywhere in India with ISTS connectivity, and sign a 25-year power purchase agreement with SECI as the intermediary procurer. A notable wrinkle in this tender: plants are required to be located within Special Economic Zones (SEZs) or areas designated as Export Oriented Units (EOUs).
The tender continues a busy season for SECI, which has issued a steady stream of NITs and results through the summer — from rooftop RESCO awards across government buildings to an expression of interest exploring virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) based procurement, a first for the agency and a signal of where C&I renewable contracting may be heading.
Why C&I via SECI
Odisha’s industrial base — steel, aluminium, mining — is power-hungry and under increasing pressure to decarbonise. Routing utility-scale solar to C&I consumers through a central intermediary lets buyers tap ISTS-connected projects in high-resource states (with ISTS charge treatment sweetening the economics) rather than being limited to in-state generation, where Odisha’s solar resource and land availability are comparatively constrained.
For developers, the appeal is a bankable counterparty and a 25-year revenue stream; the challenge, as ever, will be where the tariff lands. Recent ISTS solar auctions have cleared at aggressive levels, and the SEZ/EOU siting condition narrows the land options.
Bid submission timelines and pre-bid meeting details are available on SECI’s tender portal. We’ll report the results when the auction concludes.
